1. Field of the Invention
Lower aliphatic alcohols have been employed as fuels for internal combustion engines in specialized applications. For example, a high octane mixture of methanol and nitromethane has been employed as a fuel composition for racing cars and as a fuel for model airplane engines. Ethyl alcohol has been employed as a fuel for internal combustion engines when hydrocarbon fuels were not available. In general, however, aliphatic alcohol fuels have not been the fuels of choice for fueling either passenger or commercial motor vehicles throughout the developed world.
Actual or threatened shortages of crude oil from which to manufacture gasoline has resulted in significant steps to develop a liquid fuel for motor vehicles based on renewable sources. Ethyl alcohol meets this requirement since it can be produced from many agricultural products. A liquid fuel based on methyl alcohol is also promising since it can be produced as the end product of a partial oxidation process which employs either renewable agricultural products or substantially inexhaustible carbonaceous sources, such as coal or shale.
Automobiles having conventional internal combustion gasoline engines can be adapted to run on a liquid aliphatic alcohol fuel composition. However, serious corrosion problems have been encountered from the use of fuel compositions containing significant amounts of an alcohol.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,673,793 discloses a nitromethane-methanol fuel mixture which has been improved in its rapid combustibility by adding 2,2-dinitropropane.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,632,695 discloses a petroleum fuel composition which has been inhibited against rusting by the addition of an antirust dimeric acid or trimeric acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,673,144 discloses an auxiliary alcohol-water fuel composition consisting of from about 25 to 90 percent by weight of a lower alkanol having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms and about 10 to 75 percent by weight of water together with 500 to 2000 part per million of a chelating agent.
The disclosures of U.S. Pat. No. 2,632,695 and No. 2,673,144 are incorporated herein by reference.